


Pieces Mended

by starkspangledfondue



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Slow Build, SteveTonyFest, based on art created by the giftee, it's sad at first i apologize, stac, stevetonyfest gift exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2013-12-06
Packaged: 2018-01-03 16:05:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1072438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkspangledfondue/pseuds/starkspangledfondue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Christmas Eve, one of the happiest days of the year – next to Christmas; the Stark Tower is lit up in honor of the holidays, and in the spacious lounge stands a fully-decorated, 20 foot Christmas tree.</p><p>Stockings are hung under the flat screen to make up for the lack of a fireplace, and cheesy window decals have been placed on the floor-to-ceiling windows because Pepper said they were "endearing." The decorations make the Tower look as though it’s full of life, but in reality the holiday cheer isn’t making much of an impact on those who live inside. The Avengers smile and wish each other a happy holiday, but it’s all just something on the surface.</p><p>Especially for Captain America and Iron Man."</p><p>My gift to u-61f on tumblr for SteveTonyFest, based on a piece of artwork that they created.</p><p>Happy Holidays!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pieces Mended

**Author's Note:**

> Happy SteveTonyFest! This is my first ever contribution to the occassion. u-61f, I hope you enjoy what I wrote for you.  
> The fic is loosely based on [this](http://u-61f.tumblr.com/post/68682005857/have-you-been-crying) piece of fanart.

Christmas Eve, one of the happiest days of the year – next to Christmas; the Stark Tower is lit up in honor of the holidays, and in the spacious lounge stands a fully-decorated, 20 foot Christmas tree.

 

Stockings are hung under the flat screen to make up for the lack of a fireplace, and cheesy window decals have been placed on the floor-to-ceiling windows because Pepper said they were "endearing." The decorations make the Tower look as though it’s full of life, but in reality the holiday cheer isn’t making much of an impact on those who live inside. The Avengers smile and wish each other a happy holiday, but it’s all just something on the surface.

 

Especially for Captain America and Iron Man.

 

The super soldier was celebrating his first Christmas since being unfrozen, and usually he would have loved the holiday. Despite having nothing, him and Bucky would always find a way to get something to drink together, have a laugh and talk about what it would be like to have all the luxuries neither of them had ever experienced. They’d walk as far as Steve’s lungs would let them, and then return home with the bottle empty, sated and laughing until they finally passed out.

 

That was before the serum; before the war, before the ice, before Peggy and waking up in the 21st century only to realize he was truly alone. He tried not to think about it, but when he was alone he was filled with sadness, a chill setting into his veins that he couldn’t shake. He wished he could drink, get drunk and forget like someone he knew once chose to. But that wasn’t possible, so he cried.

 

Tony, on the other hand, had never had a real Christmas in his life. Howard and Maria were always too busy to come home, leaving him plenty of presents under the tree, but never what he really wanted. Holiday dinners were spent alone in his room, or with Jarvis at the dinner table. So despite finally having people to celebrate with, he chose to be alone. Some traditions, he supposed, couldn’t be broken – and he also figured it was only fitting that even Pepper had had plans for the night. Not even his supposed girlfriend was there for him.

 

So, for the first time in months, he downed a fifth of scotch and sat down on the floor of his suite. It wasn’t long until the tears started falling.

 

The next morning, he woke with his head throbbing, eyes still stinging from how much he’d cried. Tony honestly didn’t remember grabbing a second bottle, but lo and behold, there was a second empty scotch beside him. He got up, realizing it was so early that nobody would be awake – perfect for him to make himself a pot of coffee before locking himself upstairs again.

 

What he didn’t account for was that Steve always woke up at this time to go running, the super soldier was seated at the counter and absentmindedly staring down at his cup of hot chocolate. He looked up when Tony stepped in, but then quickly looked down, not in the mood for their usual banter. “Morning,” he mumbled, no trace of Christmas cheer in his voice.

 

The genius was okay with that – he didn’t want to be reminded what time of year it was, and if Steve was being a Scrooge too, he wasn’t against it.

 

“Morning to you, too,” he sighed, turning his back to the blond to start brewing his coffee.

 

Steve, bored with the muddy color of his drink, looked up to watch Tony work at making his morning fix. Studying his movements, he could tell that he was hung over. Probably went to some holiday party and had too much, he figured. Slight jealousy bubbled inside of him, but he pushed it down, swallowing down his now cold beverage to get rid of the bitter taste in his mouth.

 

Tony turned slightly to get something – a spoon, it looked like – and then Steve noticed the brunet’s face, eyes quick to capture the fact that his eyes were red and swollen, a small frown playing at his lips. Probably a lot like what his face looked like. So, without thinking – because he was looking for kinship on this cold December morning – he asked, “Have you been crying?”

 

Tony tensed, his grip around the spoon tightening to the point he swore that it bent. Slowly, he turned to Steve, noticing for the first time the way that the super soldier was hunched over his hot chocolate, stance defeated and eyes red. He wanted to deny the fact that the blond caught onto it, but he was too tired to snark at it him.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Once the admission was made, he avoided his gaze, turning to pour himself a mug of coffee – black, too much sugar.

 

“Me, too,” Steve said back, his voice just as defeated as his stance. “Holidays. Kind of pointless without a family, you know?”

 

Tony’s frown deepened, but he nodded, taking a sip of his sweet concoction. “Yeah. Not really something that should be celebrated alone.”

 

Steve nodded as well, a self-deprecating smile on his face. “Kind of pathetic, don’t you think? Being this damn unhappy over a dumb holiday?”

 

The brunet raised a brow at the fact that Captain had just cursed, but he agreed, warming up a little to his teammate – though they both knew neither of them actually thought Christmas was dumb.

 

“It is. Waste of energy, really. Could be useful for something else.”

 

Silence fell over the two of them, Tony staring at the Christmas tree for a moment and Steve just looking down at the floor. After a moment, the genius spoke up again.

 

“Hey.” Steve looked up, raising a brow, and Tony continued. “What do you say we just – grab breakfast somewhere? Stop feeling sorry for ourselves?”

 

The blond blinked for a second, because the two of them were still getting used to one-another, and it was surprising that he wanted to go out in public together. Then he smiled and nodded, shifting slightly in his seat.

 

“Yeah, that’d be nice. There’s a diner down the street we could go to.”

 

Tony returned the smile, and took another sip of his coffee, thinking to himself that even if he wasn’t with people he loved, he wasn’t spending the holiday alone.

 

* * *

 

A year later, Christmas had once again crept up on the Avengers, but they were all in much better spirits. Over time, the team had grown to be much more than Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – they were friends, each of them caring for one another on and off the battlefield.

 

It hadn’t been easy for them to come together at first. Natasha preferred to keep to herself, and her and Clint were constantly sent on missions. Bruce kept himself busy in the lab, always making excuses as to why he couldn’t show up. Thor had Asgard to deal with, so of course he couldn’t always stick around. But slowly, they started to enjoy one another’s company.

 

Without intending to, everyone would show up to watch a movie, or they all happened to get hungry at the same time. This spawned movie nights, and dinners all together. Dinners turned into outings turned into playful banter turned into each of them becoming more comfortable with the others around them.

 

The most obvious friendship that developed was that between Steve and Tony. Ever since last Christmas, they spent more time alone.

 

If it was midnight and Steve couldn’t sleep, he’d go down and sketch as Tony tinkered away in the lab. If Tony needed a break from whatever schematics he’d been looking over – or wanted to avoid paperwork – he went to watch Steve train in the gym, or asked if the blond wanted to grab coffee.

 

The bickering stopped, all digs made to one another playful and with good intentions. They were an unstoppable force against all the enemies the Avengers faced, as well as the greatest friendship when they were just Steve and Tony.

 

It was only natural that, after spending last Christmas alone together, they wanted this year to be that much happier. So they told the others that they’d all be spending the holiday together – everyone, of course, agreed, having no other place to go.

 

On the morning of December 25th, they all gathered in the living room with eggnog by the tree, Tony nervously fumbling with the gift that he’d made for Steve.

 

In the time he’d spent with the super soldier, he found that he had somehow fallen for the man. He didn’t know when, but he knew why. When they’d stopped being so difficult with one another, he saw that Steve was an amazing guy – funny, smart, artistic, honest, and a few other traits that Tony had grown to truly appreciate. After harboring the secret for months, and saying he’d split with Pepper because they “just weren’t meant for each other,” he figured today was the day he told Steve Rogers that he loved him.

 

Steve was clueless. He sat next to Tony, chatting with Natasha about a ridiculous villain on their last mission, and how they may be getting some new recruits on the team soon. All the while, he was hyperaware of how close his best friend was, trying not to let it distract him.

 

Over time, he’d developed his own feelings for Tony, having no idea that they were reciprocated. At first, he was confused – he’d come from an era where loving another man was an ultimate sin, and had been raised in a rather religious mindset. But he came to realize that it was okay, that it was natural to want to be with Tony – he just didn’t know if he would stand a chance. So he just sat back and waited for the right moment, not knowing if it would come.

 

After a few moments of conversation, Tony swallowed down his nerves and put a hand to Steve’s shoulder.

 

“Mind if we talk in the hall for a minute?”

 

Steve, who had now gotten into a conversation with Thor, was a bit confused but excused himself and walked out of the room with Tony.

 

“Something wrong?”

 

Tony licked over his lips, shaking his head and offering a small smile.

 

“Nothing at all. I just made you something, and I thought it’d be better that you opened it in private.”

 

It would save him from the humiliation of being rejected by his best friend with an audience.

 

The soldier was confused, because they’d all agreed on no gifts, but he nodded, accepting the small package.

 

“You didn’t have to do that, Tony, really.”

 

Peeling back the paper, the item was revealed to be a small hologram projector the size of Steve’s palm. His brow furrowed, and he looked at Tony with a slight tilt of the head.

 

The genius rolled his eyes, managing to fight past his nerves to smirk slightly. “Turn it on, Rogers.”

 

He narrowed his eyes, knowing that much, just wondering what kind of gift a projector could be. Pressing the button on the side, the hall was then filled with blue light. At first, Steve didn’t know what he was supposed to be looking at. Tony pointed at the ceiling, and he then saw what the brunet wanted him to. A perfect, 3D rendering of mistletoe was just above their heads.

 

His heart starting beating quickly, and before he could say anything Tony’s hands were cupping his cheeks and pulling him in for a kiss.

 

It was over too quickly, but he swore that his lips were tingling when the genius pulled back. The soldier was too taken aback to react, unable to process the fact that his best friend just gave him exactly what he’d wanted.

 

Tony took the hesitation as negativity, and was about to say that it was a joke when Steve pulled him back in for another kiss, letting this one last. This time, he could feel how soft the blond’s lips were against his, and how they both instinctively knew what they other liked.

 

When they parted, Steve was grinning down at his best friend, hands still cupping the back of his neck. Tony was in awe, but snapped back to reality with a smile.

 

“I thought you wouldn’t be into me,” the genius admitted, stepping forward to wrap his arms around the other man.

 

Steve shook his head, holding Tony close to him, as well. “I thought you just saw me as a friend.”

 

A short laugh left the brunet, and he looked up at his best friend.

 

“I haven’t for a while.”

 

“Me too,” Steve breathed out, moving in to kiss Tony’s forehead. “So are you my Christmas present?”

 

The blond smiled at how that sounded, deciding to clarify, “Are we together?”

 

Tony nodded, leaning in to nuzzle against the soldier’s chest. “Of course.”

 

His eyes shut, his heart still beating like crazy because a year ago he would never have believed he would be hugging Captain America and being asked if they were an item. Looking up at Steve again, he placed a chaste kiss on his lips, smiling.

 

“Merry Christmas, Steve.”

 

The soldier glanced back up at the projector, shutting it off and taking Tony’s hand to lead him back to the team.

 

“Merry Christmas, indeed.”

 


End file.
